ZESCO grants Electricity Relief to selected low income households and small businesses

ZESCO limited has given its domestic and commercial customers a COVID-19 Relief Package to cushion the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on selected low income households and small businesses.

The three-fold relief package cancels all accumulated fixed tariff charges for over 71,000 customers; temporarily suspends recovery of accumulated outstanding debt for prepaid customers, and issues Covid-19 relief of 100 units for purchase of electricity for economically disadvantaged customers

(numbering about 460,000) whose monthly consumption of electricity does not exceed 200 units as recorded during the period of the pandemic.

ZESCO has cancelled all accrued fixed tariff charges worth 46.3 Million Kwacha for customers on Residential and Commercial Tariffs with effect from 1st August 2020.

These arrears were accumulated before 31 December 2019 when fixed charges were abolished during the tariff review exercise that took effect in January 2020.

It was found that failure to pay off these accumulated arrears had resulted in some customers self-disconnecting as they could not afford to pay off the fixed charges before they could access the electricity units for a new month.

The corporation has also temporarily suspended the 40% recovery rate of outstanding debt, accrued at transition from post-paid billing to prepaid (2006 to 2014 period), on every amount tendered by customers for electricity purchases, effective from 1 November 2020.

Additionally, ZESCO will grant Covid-19 relief for purchase of “Life Line” units of electricity for a maximum of 19,000 commercial customers and 460,000 low consuming Residential customers, effective 1 December 2020.

ZESCO Managing Director, Mr. Victor M. Mundende says that the Corporation has noted the adverse economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Customers that also resulted in decline in revenues for ZESCO.

The corporation has decided to provide some relief to mitigate the negative impact of the Coronavirus on small businesses that ultimately reduced the quality of daily livelihoods for its customers, especially the low-income customers.

These measures will run upto April 2021 subject to review.

He stressed the need for ZESCO to support the multi-sectoral approach led by Government to ensure the sustainability of social and economic welfare of the people under the current environment resulting from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

He added that although ZESCO Limited had themselves been negatively impacted by both the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the depreciation of the Kwacha against the US Dollar, which had both reduced revenues as well as increased costs related to servicing of foreign currency denominated financial obligations, ZESCO had found it prudent to temporarily mitigate the plight of low income customers who had been severely impacted by the reduced economic activities resulting from the pandemic.

“We, therefore, urge all the affected Customers to take advantage of this gesture and purchase electricity units under this new dispensation, and where applicable, to make a fresh start”, Mr. Mundende said.

He further said that “ZESCO remains focused on realizing its mission of ”Making it easy for people to live better lives” by enhancing service delivery and called upon its customers to use electricity prudently.”